End were relegated to the Third Division.
Unable to seal promotion the following year,
he resigned in a huff, unhappy when one of
his key players was sold without his consent.
It would be Charlton’s only permanent
managerial role, as he became the example
in any argument about the best players not
always making great bosses.
Now, Manchester United and England’s
record goalscorer is Wayne Rooney. He’s also
35, making his first steps in the dugout with
Championship side Derby. “It’s a big chance
for me to try to lead this club back to the
glory days,” he proclaimed, after being given
the Rams job permanently in January 2021.
Early in his two-month caretaker stint, some
had doubts whether he was the right choice.
“If Derby want to get themselves relegated,
then appoint Wayne Rooney,” rent-a-gob
ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan
declared. “They’re bottom of the league and
he’s never managed before. It’s too risky.”
But Wazza was determined: for years, he’d
known what was ahead. “I’d like to do it,” he
said as far back as 2010, when he was only- “I’ve started doing my coaching badges.
I can’t see myself running a restaurant.”
WAYnE
ROOnEY
DERBY
As he was unveiled as a manager for the
very first time, Manchester United and
England’s record goalscorer smiled for
the cameras. He had just taken charge of
a historic club in the second tier, hoping
to return them to former glories.
Bobby Charlton was 35, but things didn’t
go very well: within a year, Preston NorthWhile Heston Blumenthal can breathe a sigh
of relief, Rooney – though never regarded as
the most eloquent of speakers – has always
possessed an innate football intelligence.
“His knowledge of the game isn’t in question,
and he has a presence about him,” Sir Alex
Ferguson admitted recently. “He’s a wealthy
young man and he doesn’t need to go into
management. But he wants to do it.”
That was why Rooney left DC United and
joined Derby as a player-coach in late 2019.
He had two years left on his contract in the
US, but the lure of coaching was too great –
even if there was surprise that he’d joined
a club in the Championship’s bottom half.
Midlands reporters have since claimed it was
written into his contract that he’d be given
an opportunity to manage Derby one day.
Rooney wasn’t eligible to play until January
but arrived early to begin his duties, teaming
up with manager Phillip Cocu. The Dutchman
probably sensed that his new coach would
replace him at some point.
Derby eventually climbed to 10th, but the
club’s budget has been reduced in recent
times; by mid-November 2020, they were
bottom of the table and in deep relegation
trouble – just as Fenerbahce had been in
Cocu’s previous job. The Dutchman was
sacked, with Rooney installed as joint
caretaker manager alongside Liam Rosenior,
Shay Given and Justin Walker. He played on
for two matches, but Derby lost both.
It was decided that a clearer management
structure was needed: Rooney was placed in
sole charge, with Steve McClaren brought in
as technical director and mentor. From then
on, he focused on management and never
played again. Results immediately turned:
Derby went six games unbeaten, with a runROOnEY’S BEEn A CALM
PRESEnCE In THE DUGOUT
AnD GOT THE BEST OUT
OF DERBY’S YOUnGSTERS
Above “I would
have served up
a pretty mean
creme brulee...”154 The Managers FourFourTwo.comn EXT-GEn
MAn AGERS